


Room E9

by orphan_account



Category: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-18 21:45:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18126881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The one where Ennis is studying to be a veterinarian and he notices the new TA in his animal science class.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [annalise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalise/gifts).



“Screw horses and their damn pasterns!” Ennis shouted, slamming his animal anatomy textbook. He rests his head on his desk while taking a deep breath.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight: a broke twenty-year-old cramming in his dorm for a quiz he was destined to fail. He was studying to become a veterinarian but struggled tremendously with memorizing terminology. Every now and then he would forget vocabulary and think back to his high school graduation.

“Don’t know why you’re wastin’ time in a university,” His father, John, had told him. Mr. Del Mar had made the last-minute decision that drinking and staying in that night was more important than seeing Ennis graduate. He was insistent on his son learning a trade and coming back to work in welding or something likewise. He always found Ennis’ soft spot for animals as effeminate; “Ain’t no boy I raised fit to be a doctor,”

“Not a doctor, a veterinarian,” Ennis explained.

“What am I supposed to tell my co-workers?!” Mr. Del Mar was well past tipsy as he stood up from the couch. “Frank’s son is fixin’ to work at his shop with him, Jim’s twins are studyin’ to be game wardens. And my son is too damn queer for that, apparently!”

Ennis winced in that living room and he did the same three years later, in that dorm room.

His father didn’t know he was gay. Hell, no one did. He tried to act as masculine around his peers as though he could convince himself it wasn’t true. But alas, he could not think of that right now. He had to learn the anatomy terms no matter how long it took.

The next day, he walked into that lecture hall petrified. Exams never made him nervous, not even in high school, but as he continued to work on his degree he found himself being more anxious that his father was right all along. What if he really would have been better of doing a trade?

He took a seat in his usual chair and watched the professor entered in, with a rather jittery young boy by his side. Ennis noticed him immediately. Brown hair combed neatly and he appeared to be wearing rather wrinkled clothes. The way he quickly swung the laptop bag off of his shoulder indicated that he was in a rush.

“Good morning, I assume you all have studied for the terminology quiz.” Mrs. Ariel gestured over to the brunette. “This is Jackson Twist, he will be my new teacher assistant this semester.” Giggles erupted throughout the room, everyone recalling that her previous TA, Annalise, had been caught watching pornography in the library and was asked to resign her role.

Jackson began passing out the quizzes nervously. He had trouble separating the pages from one another and often skipped over people by accident. Many of the students were rude about it but when he got to Ennis, he received a polite smile.

That shirt made his eyes look nice, even if it was wrinkled.

Ennis still felt butterflies during his exam, but a different kind now. He was suddenly a lot less concerned about the muscle tissue of a reptile and a lot more occupied with the thought of approaching the new TA after class. He managed to finish his quiz and walk up to him after the hour.

“Hi,” He smiled slowly.

“Hey,” He greeted. “How ya think your quiz went?”

“I’m glad it’s just the one,” Jack laughed at that and continued putting his stuff back into his bag. “You’re the new TA?’

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Ennis,” He reached out his hand and they shook.

“Your folks stopped at Ennis?”

“Ennis Del Mar.”

“Jack Twist,” He nodded. “You majorin’ in animal science?”

“Yeah, planning on becoming a vet. What about you?”

“Law and Humanities. We’re a generation of paralegals and I figured I’d give it a whirl.” He swung the laptop bag over his shoulder and began to walk out of the room alongside Ennis.

“I haven’t seen ya around,”

“Big campus.” Jack reasoned.

“Still, figured I’d notice you.” He blushed and turned away subtly once he had realized what he just said. “What dorm are you in?”

“I’m in the B hall, room 18. Yourself?”

“E9.”

“Well, Ennis Del Mar from E9, I got a class.” He smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow again.” He waved goodbye and Ennis did the same, although weakly. He headed back to his dorm room with a smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, things were looking grim. Ennis received a phone call from his sobbing mother in the middle of the night and the very last thing he felt like doing was going to class. He decided to take a walk around campus instead and settled under the tree in front of the Humanities building.

He stared at the sunrise and began to realize that he had disappointed his dad. It was starting to set in that the man had died the previous night knowing his only child was pursuing something he was not proud of. It hurt him greatly, and he stayed seated there for hours. It seemed like there was almost nothing that could make him feel the slightest bit better.

“Ennis?”

Almost.

Ennis looked up and saw Jack looking down on him with a few textbooks in hand. “Hi.”

“You alright?” He sat next to him quietly. “I didn’t see ya in class this morning.”

“My, uh…” He rubbed the tears falling from his eyes. “My mom called this morning.”

“Everything okay?”

“No,” He shook his head. “My father had a heart attack last night.”

Jack’s face fell and his brow creased immediately with sympathy. He placed a warm hand on Ennis’ shoulder comfortingly. Although they barely knew each other, Ennis fell into the odd familiarity of Jack’s touch.

Ennis talked about his father with him for an hour or so. He didn’t offer any advice and rather was interested in just listening if it meant it made Ennis feel better. As the sun came up fully, Ennis sighed.

“I’m just...starting to wonder if I should’ve gone about things differently.” He confessed. “Maybe I could’ve made him prouder had I learned a trade like he wanted me to…”

“I’m glad you did what you wanted to do,” Jack told him.

“Why?”

“I never would’ve met you, then, Ennis from E9.” They both chuckled at that, though Ennis tried to do it subtly. They looked up at each other and without a second thought, he grabbed Jack’s face and kissed him. He felt like he was in a dream and performing any actions he desired; this was all a facade and there were no consequences. It seemed as such until he pulled away.

“Damn queer.” He thought to himself. He was suddenly just like all of the sissies and faggots that his father was dreading his son would turn out like.

“Ennis,”

“I ain’t no queer.” Ennis stood up quickly.

“What?”

“This ain’t the sissy town you came from, Jack.” He scoffed. “Better lay your hands off me. Do that shit again & I’ll beat your ass!” He stormed off, upset with himself more than ever.


End file.
